Town News Briefing

EAST HARTFORD -- Two Hartford men have been sentenced to prison for their role in a series of random pedestrian attacks on the west side of town in 2001.

Laquan Ledbetter, 20, and Curtis Austin, 19, are the last of five defendants convicted in the crimes to be sentenced. The crime spree occurred between late Nov. 30 and early Dec. 1, 2001, and included an attack on a pregnant woman.

A Hartford Superior Court jury convicted Ledbetter late last year of two counts each of first-degree robbery and conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery. Last week, he was sentenced on those counts to a total of 20 years suspended after 12 years and five years of probation. He was sentenced to serve two additional years on a violation of probation, according to court officials.

Earlier this year, Austin was convicted of three counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and one count of first-degree robbery in Hartford Superior Court. He was sentenced last week to a total sentence of 15 years suspended after two years and five years of probation.

VERNON

Hearing Set On Plan

To Restrict Parking

VERNON -- The town council will hold a public hearing April 15 on a proposal to ban parking of commercial vehicles on local streets.

Councilman Christopher Crowne proposed the ordinance prohibiting street parking by large trucks and school buses after receiving complaints from residents of several neighborhoods. The ban would reduce unwanted noise and air pollution from diesel engines and improve safety for drivers attempting to maneuver around parked trucks, Crowne said.

Such vehicles would be allowed to park only while making deliveries.

Violation of the proposed ordinance would result in a fine of $99 a day and towing of the vehicle.

The public hearing will be at a council meeting scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. in the third-floor conference room of the board of education building at 30 Park St.

MANCHESTER

Police Again Meet

Accreditation Standards

MANCHESTER -- The board of directors of the Commission on Accreditation of Law Enforcement Agencies has voted to reaccredit the Manchester Police Department for three years.

The vote took place March 22 at the group's conference in Orlando, Fla.

Members of a CALEA committee complimented the department on its youth outreach programs and on a ``very positive'' report submitted by an assessment team that visited the town in December, according to a March 26 memorandum from Chief Gerald Aponte to General Manager Steven Werbner.

The police department's accreditation manager, Susan McQuay, had to prepare for the CALEA representatives' visit and maintain files proving the department complied with 450 standards.

The accreditation program requires agencies to meet high standards in the areas of policy and procedures, administration, operations and support services.

CALEA's purpose is to improve the quality of policing by overseeing the accreditation process. A practical benefit of being accredited is reduced premiums for liability insurance.

Manchester is one of 14 accredited law enforcement agencies in the state and 543 nationwide.

WINDSOR LOCKS

Concourse Closed For

Security Concern

WINDSOR LOCKS -- Security officials concerned that a knife may have slipped through the screening process closed a boarding concourse at Bradley International Airport Tuesday morning.

Ultimately, no knife was found, but about 100 people had to leave the main concourse in Terminal A and repeat the X-ray screening, airport Administrator Stephen Korta said.

He said the incident, which took place about 8 a.m., delayed boarding for about 20 minutes. Passengers who had boarded three commuter airlines were forced to disembark.

A report by a state trooper who investigated said the screener monitoring bags as they passed through an X-ray machine apparently spotted something that looked like a knife or a letter opener, but could not find the object when he hand-searched a bag. The concourse was cleared after it was concluded that the wrong piece of luggage had been searched.

``There was sufficient cause for them to question it,'' Korta said, although he did not know details of how the glitch occurred.

Dana Cosgrove, the federal security director for Bradley and other state airports in Connecticut, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

MANCHESTER

Town Water Division

To Flush Mains

MANCHESTER -- The town's water division will be flushing water mains in neighborhoods south of Hartford Road Monday through April 11.

Flow tests and other tests also will be done during the week. The flushing may cause discolored water and reduced pressure.

If water appears discolored, homeowners should try to avoid using it until it clears. This will prevent rust and sediment from being brought into the home's water system.

If sediment does get into a home's hot water tank, the homeowner should wait until the water clears and open the faucet at the bottom of the tank to drain the collected material, which will settle at the bottom.